The Art of Naming

The baby girls who were born in 1950 are now grandmothers. They will turn 65 this year! It is safe to say, though, that a lot of their first names may not be getting passed down to their grand-daughters at the same rate that grandpa's name is probably being given to the boys. While the boys have some solid classics on their side --even their more dated options like Jerry are well-used today-- the girl names have not survived the test of time as well. Take a look at how the top girl names of 1950 rank then and now and see if you don't agree: Girls:             Linda Mary Patricia Barbara Susan Nancy Deborah Sandra Carol Kathleen Sharon Karen Donna Brenda Margaret Diane Pamela Janet Shirley Carolyn Judith Janice Cynthia Elizabeth Judy 1950:     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 2013:                        643 121 680 838 844 689 814 766 1617 664 882 416 1340 634 181 1841

Let's take a look at the past! The year 1950 was smack dab in the middle of the century. Babies born that year will celebrate their 65th birthday this year. Many of them are grandparents now and may even be lending their own names to their grandchildren. The most popular boy names in 1950 were James, Robert, John, Michael and David. How did these names rank 63 years later in 2013? Well, most of them are classics that don't fade very far down the charts. In fact, James, Michael and David are still in the Top 20 today. Here's how the 1950's Top 25 names rank in 2013: Boys:          James Robert John Michael David William Richard Thomas Charles Gary Larry Ronald Joseph Donald Kenneth Steven Dennis Paul Stephen George Daniel Edward Mark Jerry Gregory 1950:     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 2013:               13 62 27 7 18 5 140 61 57 578 477 403 20 415 187 136

Since Australia Day is being celebrated on January 26th, I thought we would take a moment to learn more about Australia's best baby-name blogger Anna from the blog "Waltzing More Than Matilda."  If you aren't Australian, don't worry, she explains exactly what the title of her blog really means. Anna is a wonderful blogger with great insight into names. She always has interesting and informative articles complete with opinion polls. If you enjoy voting for your favorite names, Anna provides plenty of opportunities for that on her blog!  She often shares names from local birth announcements and she also keeps up with celebrity baby news from Australian stars and footballers. Read below to learn more about Anna, her favorite names and her thoughts about the differences between names in Australia and names here in the US. What are your first and middle names? Anna Vivian. Do you like your name, or would you ever want to change it? When I was younger, m

Here are some real names from some real babies found on recent hospital birth announcements in the US. Which of these do you like best? Girls: Adalynn Rose Alexis Ann Amelia Grace Anna Beverly Bella Victoria Cadence Faith Clara Luna Eliza Rain Emma Mae Hazel Mae Helena Mae Hope Ann Kathryn Ethel Lillien Emma Margaret Lucille Michaela Hailey Olivia Grace Quinley Marie Samantha Joy Scarlett Myrtle Serenity Marie Skylar Jasmine Teagan Marie Tessa Elizabeth Valerie Brook Boys: Abel Vaughn Aiden Robert Benjamin Alexander Christopher Charles Colin James Colt Thomas Edward Gabriel Elias Daniel Elliot Wesley Emerson Davis Ezekiel Luther Hunter James Isaiah Sylvester Jack Rowdy Lincoln Thomas Luca Daniel Matthew James Maurice Anthony Patrick John Preston Michael Samuel Lawrence Sylas Logan Thomas Dominick Weston Michael Wyatt James

Did you pick your favorite male A name from the previous post about The Very Best A Names for Boys and Girls? I did. And I will be featuring it right now.  Alistair is the anglicized form of the name Alasdair which is the Scottish version of Alexander . See the similarities between the three names?  There are other brother-names drawn from Alexander like the Arabic Iskandar , the Finnish Aleksanteri , the Irish Alastar , the Russian Aleksandr and the Ukrainian Oleksander among many others.  Alexander itself comes from the Greek Alexandros which means "defender of men". Of course, Alexander is a Greek mythology name (another name for the hero Paris) and a biblical name (found in the New Testament). The most famous bearer in history was Alexander the Great. It has also been used by kings of Scotland, Poland and Yugoslavia, emperors of Russia and eight popes.  However, the English Alistair doesn't have any big namesakes. There are many modern people

Baby name websites have thousands of names in their databases. This can cause headaches for expecting parents to browse through. How do you know which will be the perfect name for your little one? How can you sift through the unusual names from foreign cultures that you've never even heard of and don't know how to pronounce? After all, you just want a familiar, traditional name that will work well on a baby today. The following list contains fifty of the best names that start with the letter A, twenty-five names per gender. The goal was to include something for nearly everyone. Since I'm based in the US, these names lean more toward current American styles but I'm sure some of these work internationally too. Take a look and let me know which you like best:      Girls: Aaliyah                                    Abigail Adelaide Addison Adriana Ainsley Alana Alexandra Alice Alyssa Amara Amelia Anastasia Annabelle Anne Arabella Aria Ari

There are so many lovely 4+ syllable names for girls ; narrowing it down to one was difficult but I decided on beautiful Seraphina. Seraphina is the feminine form of the Late Latin male name Seraphinus . This name comes from the biblical, Hebrew word seraphim meaning "fiery ones" and referring to an order of angels that had six wings each. The Seraphim were described by the prophet Isaiah in the bible.  Seraphina was also the name of a 13th century saint from Italy who was known for making clothing for the poor.  As a name, Seraphina was never really favored in the past. However, it is starting to take off as an usual but pretty name. Actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner named their second daughter Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck in 2009 which put the name on people's radars more, but yet it still remains mostly unused. The celebrity endorsement bumped Seraphina from having only 50 births in 2008 to having 88 in 2009 and 107 in 2010. How

In the past, I wrote an article about Elizabeth and her consistent popularity since 1880: she has always ranked within the Top 30 as a first name. As a middle name, she's also a popular choice because of how extremely well Elizabeth flows with most first names. I listed four specific reasons why Elizabeth has remained so popular and works so well with other names. I also listed other 4 syllable names that might also work well as a middle name. If none of those strike your fancy, you're sure to find a great selection in the following list of 4+ syllable girl names. Which of these are your favorite? Share your thoughts in the comment section below! Abilena           Abriana Abrianna Abriella Abryanna Acadia Acelina Adelaida Adelia Adelina Adelita Adriana Adrianna Aemilia Afrodite Agostina Agustina Albertina Alejandra Alejandrina Aleksandra Alessandra Alessia Alethea Aletheia Alexandra Alexandrea Alexandria Alexia Alexxia Alicia A

After looking at all of the 4+ syllable boy names available, I wanted to pick one that was legitimately 4 syllables on its own as opposed to a name that earned 4 syllables by adding an -o to the end of a name that is usually 3-syllables. With this criteria, it was actually rather tough to find a good one that hasn't already been featured. I settled on the biblical Jeremiah. Jeremiah comes from the Hebrew name יִרְמְיָהוּ ( Yirmiyahu ) meaning "Yahweh has uplifted". In the bible, he was one of the major prophets in the Old Testament who wrote the Book of Jeremiah as well as the Book of Lamentations. He lived in the 6th century BC during the time of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem. In England, the Protestant Reformation brought about the usage of a lot of names that were later carried to Colonial America with the pilgrims. Jeremiah was one of those names. However, the shorter variation Jeremy was sometimes used since the 13th century in England. Over